The St. Louis Blues continue to play great hockey, and on Sunday night they defeated Columbus 6-4 and claimed second place in the Central division. They're 7-1-2 in their least 10 games. They'll have to continue this streak of success on the road, as they're traveling for a couple of games this week. The first game comes against a Colorado Avalanche team in desperate need of wins, and they'll finish this relatively light week in Phoenix, where the Coyotes are battling for playoff position.

The full schedule.

Dec. 21: at Colorado Avalanche (8:30 p.m. CT, Fox Sports Midwest)
It's been a tough season so far for the Avs, who are a couple games under .500 and stuck at the bottom of the Northwest division. Still, they're within six points of eighth place in the Western Conference, and certainly they'll be looking to start a winning streak to get themselves back in real contention. In general, the Avalanche have had trouble scoring, but their power play unit ranks third in the league. That may be trouble for St. Louis' 23rd-ranked penalty kill.

Dec. 23: at Phoenix Coyotes (8:00 p.m. CT, Fox Sports Midwest)
Phoenix has been a borderline playoff team to this point, hurt by less-than-stellar special teams play, among other things. But they're right in the mix in the Pacific division, and like Colorado, they should be motivated to improve their position this week.

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